Maybe a little harsh on Jo-Willie, but his miss on that one midcourt sitter really sticks in the mind. And Djokovic's double-fault really was quite the surprise -- it's not like Rafa had been pounding return winners off Nole's second serve.

I think Rafa has a very good chance of surpassing Roger's 16. In fact, if I were a betting man, I just might put some money on it. The RG win primarily is about Nadal's dominance on clay -- Novak still has the upper hand on other surfaces. But the win gives Nadal a nice boost in confidence (he can easily rationalize away the bad third set), which will help him if they meet once again at Wimbledon.

I think Nole wants it badly. Four majors in a row -- something neither Roger nor Rafa have accomplished or ever will. That's big. As for Roger, he's in a no-win situation -- literally. He surely doesn't want to face Rafa in another RG final, but he doesn't want to lose to Djokovic either.

That used to be the case, but no more. All the top players now want to play the Olympics and view it as a quadrennial fifth major. I won't weigh in on the Ryder Cup comparison because I don't consider golf a sport.

Until last year, Rafa was unbeatable on clay. For SIX WHOLE YEARS, he only lost on clay when he was struggling with injuries -- and those losses were rare indeed. That's unprecedented dominance on a surface. The fact that he's no longer a locked-down, guaranteed winner whenever he steps out onto a clay court represents the end of an era. It doesn't mean he won't win more French Open titles. And it just might make the clay season -- and Nadal's victories -- more exciting and satisfying.

Exercised -- that is, to get worked up about something -- is correct. I wasn't trying to say people were having the devil drummed out of them. And, as I said, I didn't watch the Tennis Channel special. I was referring to the best-ever lists that came along in response to it.